Pick a hero for this ninth-inning shocker today. Fist-pumping excitement to say the least. Wow!

Joe’s going with the beastly professional at-bats by Desmon Jennings and Carlos Pena in the ninth inning against Justin Verlander. Jennings going the other way with some quick hands on a 98ish heater, and Pena laying off some close breaking stuff with two strikes to eventually draw a critical passed ball and a walk.

One might have been worried that kind of hitting would have been lacking this season minus Johnny Pena, but the Rays didn’t miss him today. And it wasn’t just Jennings and Pena getting it done enroute to four runs in the ninth.

James Shields fired perhaps his best stuff late in the game and was cruising toward what looked like the kind of complete-game loss nobody wants. But it turned into another gem by Fernando Rodney, this year’s bullpen Messiah project.

What an incredible confidence-builder for the Rays. Though it’s clear they didn’t need one.

Even E. Johnson kept it alive. When Maddon put him in for Joyce even though it was a lefty I was wringing my hands. I had weak grounder to the SS or 3rd penciled in probably a DP. Then the boy shocked me and took a walk! Thats his signature greatest offensive weapon and he used it in crunch time. i promise to not cringe when he steps to the plate for a couple of days.

Great win and even better as a harbinger of things to possibly come! This can always be drawn upon in crunch time in Sept or even later.

Pena is really swinging the bat great. He's taking what they give him and looking to make contact. I love that no matter the outcome. His homers will come but sometimes we need his singles and he's adapting. His approach is better at 2 or now even 1!